Handbook·Elections

Running for office in Maryland

State page·Verified 2026-07-10

This page covers what's specific to Maryland on top of the general guide to filing for local office.

Filing in Maryland

For county and legislative-district offices, you file a Certificate of Candidacy with your local board of elections, in person during posted business hours. You choose between filing by principal-party nomination, which means paying a statutory filing fee, or filing by petition, which requires signatures equal to at least 1 percent of eligible voters in the district you're seeking. Many Maryland municipalities, meaning towns and cities, run their own separate charter-based election calendars and file directly with the municipal clerk rather than the county board, so confirm which body governs the specific office you're after before you file anything.

Deadlines and numbers

  • 2026 primary candidate filing deadline: Tuesday, February 24, 2026, by 9:00pm
  • Petition alternative: signatures equal to at least 1 percent of eligible voters in the district
  • Filing fees vary by office and are set by statute. Your local board of elections can give you the current dollar figure for a specific race
  • General-election petition candidates may submit required documents and fees by mail if received by the deadline. Postmarks don't count

The dossier couldn't reconcile one statewide filing-fee table across office types (city council, county council, school board), since fees are set by statute or by the local jurisdiction. It also didn't confirm a 2026 general-election local filing deadline beyond the primary date above, since many Maryland towns hold off-cycle elections on their own calendars. Confirm both with your local board of elections or /engage.

Where to go